


the wind will embrace us

by wonhaosalts



Series: hogwarts heartaches [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, One-Sided Attraction, haha or is it, junhui is whipped, minghao is cute, this is long overdue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:23:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8578399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonhaosalts/pseuds/wonhaosalts
Summary: Junhui decides to take a Puking Pastille to get out of History of Magic class, but doesn’t expect to be taken care of seriously by his crush, Minghao. 
(Chicken soup and cats get involved, but now caught up in a spiral of lies, there’s no way Junhui can tell Minghao that he was faking it.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> HI UH i'm sorry this was so long overdue idk why i procrastinated so much but my kids won best star award last night and i'm so proud i love seventeen + i'm sorry for spelling errors aah i will edit it later (also check out end notes for a poll!)

_I._

 

Quidditch season meant extra practices every night, and that meant no time to study for any tests. Of course there was the concept of time management, but Junhui never believed in that. 

 

Which was why he had resorted to this technique of getting out of class. 

 

“Okay,” Soonyoung said, holding his hands up defensively. “But I don’t see why you have to leave me behind in Professor Binns’ class to suffer a horribly slow death by his _voice_.”

 

Junhui snorted, rummaging through his bag for the pill. “It’s because we have a test today, stupid. And I haven’t studied for it, so I’m screwed and I’d rather spend my time sleeping in the hospital wing.”

 

Soonyoung sighed, shaking his head. “I’m only condoning this because I know how tired you are from Quidditch practice.”

 

Junhui looked at the Slytherin captain pointedly. “And not because you’re my best friend?”

 

Soonyoung laughed. “Nope. But seriously, the test will be fine. It’s only 5% of our final grade.”

 

Junhui snorted. “I don’t ever understand what’s going on during class.”

 

“Fine,” Soonyoung agreed. “I’ll find you at the hospital wing later.”

 

Professor Binns walked in at that moment, instructing everyone to flip their textbooks to page 17. Junhui pulled out the Puking Pastille instantly, wanting to get out of class as quickly as possible. He mentally blessed whoever came up with them; it was an ingenious way to get out of class by faking ill. It was easy to use too, the orange side of the pill caused you to throw up, and once you were out of class all you had to do was chew on the purple side, which made you perfectly fine once more. 

 

Even though they were commonly used by students, the teachers never seemed to catch on with the trick. Junhui took it in his pride to carry a few around all the time, just in case he’d felt like skipping lessons, and today was one of those days.

 

He tossed in into his mouth, being careful to only bite on the orange part. It was hard like rock candy, but Junhui didn’t have to chew for long before feeling nauseas, bile rising in his throat. He exaggerated a loud gagging noise that made everyone turn to stare, Professor Binns included, who seemed extremely concerned.

 

Without letting Professor Binns inspect him, Junhui got out of his seat and ran down the hallways towards the hospital, hearing Soonyoung’s faint voice explaining that he had eaten something bad that morning. He made a beeline for the hospital wing, intending to let Madam Pomfrey inspect him before letting him rest in the room for a while, as she always did.

 

Carefully, Junhui pushed open the doors to the room, only to be greeted with an empty hospital wing. The only thing that looked different from usual was a large sign on the nurse’s table, handwritten to say that she would be away for the day attending to some personal matters. 

 

Chewing on the second half of the pill to stop himself from actually throwing up, Junhui thanked his lucky stars that he would be able to just sleep in the hospital wing all day, which was honestly the best way to spend any weekday, he felt.

 

Climbing onto one of the hospital beds, Junhui shut his eyes and leaned back against the down stuffed pillow, intending to get some rest before returning to the rest of his classes later. He wasn’t sure how long he had lay there, but he was briefly awoken by the sound of the hospital wing door opening. Junhui didn’t bother to open his eyes; it was probably just another student looking for Madam Pomfrey, or was faking his illness like himself, so he opted to just ignore them.

 

He heard the soft padding of footsteps coming towards him, but Junhui still didn’t open his eyes. Maybe there were bandages on the table next to his bed, and he was too lazy to look.

 

Then he felt the cool touch of a palm on his forehead, paired with a gentle, mellow voice that said, “Are you okay?”

 

Junhui bolted awake. He would recognise that voice from anywhere, especially since it was his crush’s. He opened his eyes, only to meet Minghao’s, who was leaning over him with a concerned look on his face. 

 

Minghao was a fifth year Hufflepuff student, which made him a year younger than Junhui. He was also in the Quidditch team and played the position of the Seeker, and Junhui thought the way he seemed to flow with the wind was stunning. He wasn’t particularly outgoing or social, but Minghao made lots of friends due to Quidditch, and Junhui was one of them.

 

However, they weren’t that close, and it had always been one-sided admiration on Junhui’s part since they only ever talked when their friends were there. Soonyoung didn’t help the situation much, since he was always pulling Minghao away for a dance session whenever he could, and Junhui never had many chances to interact with his crush.

 

Therefore, it was kind of impossible for Minghao to feel the same way.

 

But Junhui must have given him a look of utter shock, because Minghao jumped back like he had just been scalded by boiling water, and Junhui’s forehead was left feeling hot and flushed from his touch.

 

"Oh, I'm sorry! I must have disturbed your rest," Minghao squeaked, face low and almost hidden by his bangs. He looked so apologetic that Junhui was at a loss of what to do or say, partially because he was paralysed at the sudden realisation that he was of such close proximity with his two year long crush. 

 

Junhui cleared his throat. "No... It's okay," he said slowly. 

 

Minghao let a relieved smile break out on his face, and it was the cutest thing Junhui had ever seen. Taking that Puking Pastille today was the best choice he had ever made. 

 

"Are you okay, though?" Minghao inched closer, and Junhui willed him to rest his hand on his forehead again. Sadly, he didn't. "I've never seen you in the hospital wing before, even though you play Quidditch." 

 

Junhui paused. "You come here often?" Minghao sounded like he used the hospital wing as a hangout spot. 

 

Minghao grinned shyly. "Owning a cat always bodes trouble." 

 

As if he couldn't get cuter. Junhui was tempted to slam his head into the desk next to his bed in frustration at how someone could be so adorable, but he really didn't want to get a real injury, did he? Then again, maybe Minghao would rush to treat his wounds… 

 

"But, ah... I'm here today because I got scratched by a Hippogriff during Care of Magical Creatures class just now," Minghao explained, and it was then that Junhui realised he had 3 long scratches stretched across his forearm, and dots of blood had started to appear. 

 

"Oh my god," Junhui yelled, scuffling with the covers in an attempt to get out of bed and help to dress Minghao's wound. "I'll help you with that." 

 

Minghao rested his uninjured hand on Junhui's arm quickly, and the latter stopped moving instantly.

 

"It's alright, you should probably rest. I'm used to this, I can treat it myself." Minghao beamed at Junhui, and it was honestly brighter than the sun. He walked over to the sink and started to wash his wounds with some saline. Junhui watched him, and the way his fingers were so elegant and swift in motion.

 

"So, how did you end up in the hospital wing?" Minghao asked, reaching for a bandage. 

 

"Oh..." Junhui couldn't tell him that he skipped class just because he didn't study for a test. Minghao would think the worst of him. "Um, I think I ate something bad this morning. I threw up a bit just now, too.”

 

Minghao's eyes widened, and Junhui instantly realised that what he had just said was really quite gross. 

 

"I'm sorry, that was too much information," Junhui apologised quickly, internally berating himself for saying that. 

 

"No!" Minghao exclaimed as he tucked in the ends of his bandage, and walked back over to Junhui's bedside. “It’s okay. But you must be feeling awful.”

 

"O-oh, yeah," Junhui agreed. 

 

"Does your stomach still hurt?" Minghao asked worriedly. 

 

"A bit," Junhui said, deciding to go with his lie. 

 

“It’s too bad Madam Pomfrey’s not in today, she’d know exactly how to treat you,” Minghao said, sighing and fiddling with his robes.

 

“It’s fine, really,” Junhui replied, just happy that he had even gotten the chance to interact with Minghao. “I’ll just rest here for a while.”

 

Minghao bit his lip in thought, and Junhui was sure that it was unintentional, but it was giving him severe cardiac arrest. 

 

"I know!" Minghao said suddenly, with a bright smile on his face. "I'll get you some food from the Great Hall! That should warm up your stomach." 

 

“Oh,” Junhui said, his face already growing warm even without the hot food. He hoped it wasn’t too obvious, and smiled back at Minghao. “Thanks.”

 

The smile never left his face as Minghao hurriedly dashed out of the hospital wing, heading in the direction of the Great Hall. Junhui lay back down on the bed, wondering if luck had been on his side today and slowly counted down the minutes for Minghao to return. 

 

_He’s such a caring guy, thinking about me before his own injuries,_ Junhui thought. This had just affirmed his feelings for the younger boy even further, and he realised that he probably looked like a giant fool, grinning to himself for no reason.

 

Junhui almost dozed off to sleep again _(wow, was he deprived of it)_ when Minghao burst through the doors again, walking over as quickly as he could manage while balancing a bowl of steaming hot food on a tray. Junhui woke up instantly and wiped his mouth, hoping that he didn’t drool or do anything that would have embarrassed himself. 

 

Minghao set the tray down on the table next to his bed, then handed Junhui the bowl carefully. Junhui received it with yet another thank you, pleased with the thought that he would be able to enjoy some food served by none other than his own crush.

 

“Careful, it’s hot!” Minghao warned, looking like he was responsible for any mishap that might happen to Junhui. “I got them to warm the soup up for you.”

 

Junhui stared at the bowl, then tried not to drop it in horror when he realised that there was sliced chicken in the warm broth. 

 

Junhui _hated_ chicken soup, especially the one from the Great Hall.

 

“Oh,” Junhui managed to get out, while trying to maintain his composure. “Chicken soup…”

 

“Yeah, it’s really nice, isn’t it?” Minghao beamed, oblivious to Junhui’s internal struggle. “Maybe it’s Jisoo-hyung’s influence, since he always goes on about how chicken heals our hearts, but I really like it.” He laughed softly, and it was a sound that made Junhui feel a bit light headed.

 

“Oh… thank you…” Junhui said, but the sight of the soup made him feel sick for real. It always tasted overly salty and the chicken was weirdly slimy.

 

_… Was it even chicken, then?_

 

Minghao finally noticed. “You don’t like chicken soup?” he asked, sounded disappointed.

 

Junhui panicked, and said the first thing he could to please Minghao. “No, I love it! Thank you,” he lied.

 

“You’re welcome!” Minghao’s warm smile returned, and to Junhui’s surprised, he took a seat on the chair a few inches away from his bed.

 

“Don’t you need to go back for lessons?” Junhui asked on reflex, but then quickly realised that he sounded like he didn’t want Minghao’s company. He really did. 

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” he corrected, hoping that Minghao didn’t interpret it wrongly.

 

“No, I get what you meant,” Minghao replied, fiddling with the edge of his robes distractedly. “They’re probably not expecting me until later, and I think I’ll stay just in case you still feel sick.”

 

“Oh,” Junhui said, suddenly feeling very warm inside, and it wasn’t because of that horrible soup. “Thank you.” He realised that he’d been saying that a lot to Minghao.

 

“How did you get that scratch on your arm?” Junhui asked, motioning to Minghao’s bandage. He didn’t want to let them sit in awkward silence, and decided to utilise the time to get a bit closer to the Hufflepuff.

 

Minghao laughed sheepishly. “I was a bit too eager to ride the Hippogriffs, I suppose.” He rubbed his nose with a finger. “I thought I’d be better at handling them, since I already have a cat who claws at me a lot.”

 

Junhui found it amusingly adorable. “Maybe you should stick to riding broomsticks then.”

 

Minghao lit up at that. “Yeah, Quidditch season’s coming soon! We’ll definitely beat Ravenclaw this time.”

 

“I hope we beat Gryffindor,” Junhui muttered. “Or else all our practice would be for nothing.”

 

“You stand a good chance,” Minghao reassured. “I’ve seen you play countless times before, and you’re a pretty good beater if I do say so myself.” He grinned until his eyes were crescents, and Junhui steeled himself at the sight.

 

“I think you’re a really good seeker too,” Junhui admitted. “Every time I watch you play, it’s like you’re one with the wind.”

 

Minghao let out a short laugh. “Maybe it’s because everyone says I’m so skinny.”

 

Junhui let his eyes roam across Minghao’s body, especially his legs. He realised, that if anything, Minghao should be the one drinking the soup. He was incredibly skinny, and it seemed like he was going to be blown away when they were up in the air.

 

“You are,” Junhui blurted out. “And cute,” he added on in a softer voice, but Minghao tilted his head in confusion.

 

“I’m sorry, you said?” Minghao asked politely, looking a bit shy that he had missed out what Junhui had said.

 

Was this a good time to confess, Junhui wondered. They were alone, which did create a bit of that tensioned atmosphere, but there was no way that Minghao would ever feel the same way. He did have a shot, though, and maybe the fact that Minghao had chosen to stay and watch over him was a sign?

 

“Hey!” Seokmin yelled, bursting into the hospital wing noisily. “You okay? It’s your turn to ride the Hippogriff!” 

 

And Junhui had jinxed himself.

 

Seokmin locked eyes with Junhui, and grinned like he knew something the Slytherin didn’t. “Oh, hello, hyung. Not feeling well?”

 

Junhui nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

 

Minghao stood up, but his gaze remained on Junhui. “Sorry, I guess I’ve to go now.”

 

Junhui shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it even though he really did want Minghao to stay longer. “It’s okay. See you around?”

 

Minghao beamed. “Yeah. Drink the soup, you’ll feel better.”

 

With that, both Hufflepuffs left the hospital wing, the brass doors slamming shut once more. Junhui sighed as he picked up his spoon, deciding to just have a tiny bit of soup. Minghao did take the effort to get it for him, after all.

 

Chicken soup had never tasted so sweet.

 

_II._

 

“Hope you had a good nap while I suffered in Professor Binns’ and Snape’s classes,” Soonyoung said sarcastically, and Junhui opened his eyes sleepily to see his best friend’s figure looming over him.

 

“Shut up,” Junhui said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. “I’m seriously sleep deprived.”

 

“Professor Snape didn’t say a word about you missing class, but you do have an essay as homework that we already completed during class.” Soonyoung smirked. “Regretting it now?”

 

Junhui recalled his moments with Minghao just an hour or so before, and it felt like a dream. Still, he would have rather gotten extra homework than not spent his morning in a hospital wing with Minghao. 

 

Soonyoung glanced around, then raised an eyebrow at the almost empty soup bowl lying on the table. 

 

“Dude, did you drink this?” 

 

Junhui nodded, yawning. “Yeah, why?”

 

“You hate chicken soup. Don’t tell me Madam Pomfrey forced you to drink this, oh God,” Soonyoung groaned.

 

“She’s not even here today,” Junhui said. “It was—”

 

He paused, because Soonyoung knew all about how crazy he was for Minghao, and if the Slytherin captain found out that Minghao had taken care of him the whole morning, there was absolutely no way that he was going to live it down.

 

“It was…?” Soonyoung prompted.

 

“Nothing,” Junhui said quickly. “It’s free block now, right? Want to go flying?”

 

Soonyoung looked a bit suspicious, but dropped the subject anyway. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go get our broomsticks.”

 

Junhui grinned, and was about to hop out of bed when the doors opened again, revealing a worried looking Minghao. _Oh no, what was he doing here?_ Junhui sunk deeper into his covers, willing Soonyoung not to say anything about the situation.

 

“Junhui-hyung!” Minghao called out, and strode over to the two Slytherins, one of which was feeling very embarrassed, while the other was just plain confused. “Are you feeling better?”

 

“What the heck?” Soonyoung hissed as quietly as he could. 

 

“I’ll explain later. Just follow my lead,” Junhui hissed back. 

 

Minghao reached his bedside, and smiled widely at Soonyoung. “Hi Soonyoung-hyung! Checking on Junhui-hyung too?”

 

Soonyoung grinned, but it looked as stiff as a starched uniform. “Hey, Minghao. Yeah, he wasn’t feeling too well this morning.”

 

“I know,” Minghao said, sounding like he was taking it in his stride to nurse Junhui back to health. “I got him some chicken soup to warm his stomach.”

 

Junhui butt in before Soonyoung could say anything that could possibly reveal his lies. “Yeah, it was really good,” he said, smiling.

 

Minghao smiled so widely, Junhui thought his heart was going to implode on the spot. “I’m glad you liked it!” but his smile faded almost instantly. “Are you still feeling unwell, though?”

 

“He’s fi—” Soonyoung began.

 

“Actually, my stomach still hurts a little,” Junhui said as loudly as he could to block out Soonyoung’ voice. The Slytherin captain stared incredulously at him, as if questioning all of his life’s choices. 

 

Minghao stepped closer, his eyes brimming with concern. “Oh,” he said, sounding unsure. “Would you like more soup?”

 

Alarm bells chimed in Junhui’s head as soon as the question was asked. 

 

“No, I’m full now,” Junhui said with a small smile.

 

Minghao hummed in thought, then his face lit up with an idea. 

 

“I’ll be back!” he called, and dashed out of the doors as quickly as he had run in.

 

Junhui let out a breath he had been holding in unintentionally, and turned to face Soonyoung who was staring at him like he was insane.

 

“Did you get taken care of by Minghao, your insanely long term crush, this morning? Because you lied to him and told him that you were actually sick?”

 

Junhui flinched slightly. “Okay, I did not _lie_ to him. He assumed that I was really ill.”

 

Soonyoung folded his arms, staring at him pointedly. “You didn’t correct him either, though.”

 

Junhui sighed. “Goddamn it, Soonyoung, I can’t tell if you’re rooting for me or not. Listen, every time I meet Minghao, we’re always with other friends, so I’m never able to talk to him or get closer to him like this. I just wanted to use this situation to interact with him more, since he’s my crush, okay?”

 

Soonyoung started to laugh. “Of course I’m on your side. It’s just too much of a coincidence for me to believe.”

 

Junhui shrugged. It wasn’t like he could believe it either.

 

“And you actually drank his chicken soup. The food you despise so much.”

 

“Well, I didn’t want him to feel sad,” Junhui argued. “So I just drank it for him.”

 

“You’re so whipped,” Soonyoung teased, and Junhui would have smacked him in the face with a pillow if it wasn’t for Minghao, running back into the hospital wing. He half expected Minghao to be carrying another plate of assorted food, but in his arms was instead a fluffy ginger cat.

 

Junhui couldn’t even react at the scene. The sight of Minghao cuddling a cat seemed to radiate so much preciousness that he was unable to function. He really just wanted to scoop the Hufflepuff boy into a hug, but that was pretty much impossible.

 

“Your cat!” Soonyoung beamed, rushing over to pat the feline’s head, unaffected by Minghao’s apparent aura.

 

Minghao grinned over at Junhui, who still wasn’t particularly sure why he had brought his cat to the hospital wing. If it was to give him chest pains, that was definitely working.

 

“Sometimes when my stomach hurts, I like to use him as a heat pack. He’s really fluffy too, so that’s a plus.” Minghao held him over to Junhui, who gently reached out to take the ginger cat into his arms. The feline instantly snuggled up against him, and Junhui felt a flow of warmth rush to his cheeks at Minghao’s kind gesture.

 

“Thank you,” Junhui said slowly. “What’s his name?” 

 

“Chuck,” Minghao replied. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but the bell chimed, signalling the start of their next class.

 

“Sorry Junhui-hyung, looks like I’ve got to go for class. I’ll come back later?” Minghao promised with a shy smile, his eyes twinkling.

 

“Sure,” Junhui reassured him. Then he remembered the purring cat in his arms. “Wait, what about your cat?”

 

Minghao laughed. “You can borrow him for now.”

 

“Just take him,” Soonyoung interrupted, pushing Minghao towards the door. Junhui had almost forgotten he was there. “We’re going for class now.”

 

“Take notes for me,” Junhui blurted out in an attempt to look studious in front of his crush.

 

Soonyoung rolled his eyes. “Please, you don’t even read the worksheets.” 

 

Minghao’s soft laughter as the Quidditch captain closed the door was enough to make Junhui regret his decisions. Rolling over and giving Chuck one last pat, he decided to sleep his regrets away.

 

_III._

 

Junhui woke up a few hours later to a ball of fluff lying on his face, and gently lifted Minghao's cat off of his face and placed him onto his lap. The cat was still sound asleep, and Junhui wished he could do the same, but lying on a hospital wing bed all day was kind of boring, and he had to go for Quidditch practice.

 

He scanned the room back and forth for a familiar head of brown hair with sparkly eyes, but Minghao wasn't in the hospital wing when he promised he would return. Slightly disappointed, Junhui pulled away the covers and stood up, intending to leave for dinner. 

 

Chuck meowed at him loudly, as if annoyed that he was going to just leave him behind. Junhui sighed and scooped the cat up in his arms, deciding to make a stop by the Hufflepuff dormitory to return Minghao his cat. He could just ask someone to do it for him in the interest of time, but if it meant seeing Minghao one last time for the day, he didn't mind. 

 

As he walked over to the Hufflepuff dormitory, Junhui wondered if he should tell Minghao the truth, that he wasn’t actually sick but went along with Minghao’s assumption in order to be able to talk to him. But Junhui pictured Minghao being weirded out by his lies, and decided that the safest way would just be keeping his mouth shut.

 

Junhui was about to set Minghao's cat on the floor in hopes that he would stay outside the dormitory until Minghao — or someone —arrived to open the door, when the barrel shaped entrance slid open to reveal Mingyu, a Gryffindor who was part of their house Quidditch team. 

 

Junhui was relatively close friends (or friendly rivals) with him, since they were all in the same social circle, but he tended to get jealous of Mingyu, who was extremely close friends with Minghao despite being in different houses. Basically, Junhui just wished he was in Mingyu's position. 

 

Mingyu's eyes widened upon seeing the cat, and reached out to snuggle the pet. Junhui continued to squat in front of him awkwardly.

 

“Chuck!” Mingyu beamed, running his fingers through the cat’s fur. “Did he get lost, Junhui-hyung?”

 

Junhui stood up, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “Err, no, Minghao lent him to me for a while.”

 

Mingyu looked on curiously. “Is that so? He never shares his cat with anyone.”

 

Junhui blinked. “Oh. Maybe because I wasn’t feeling so well just now.” _Yeah, that was probably it._

 

Mingyu grinned, accentuating his sharp canines. “Well, at least I get to play with him now.”

 

Junhui tried to get a look of the Hufflepuff dormitory to see if Minghao was inside, but the door had closed shut just as quickly as it slid open. 

 

“Is Minghao inside?” Junhui asked, hoping to at least express his thanks to the younger boy. After all, he had lied to him this whole time, and Minghao had been awfully nice about it all.

 

Mingyu shook his head slowly. “Nope, I didn’t see him. I was talking to Seokmin, and they’re usually together. Maybe he still has class.”

 

Junhui’s heart sank in disappointment. Looks like his luck had finally ran out.

 

Mingyu seemed to notice his sudden sadness. “If I do see him later, I can tell him you were here looking for him to return his cat.”

 

Junhui offered a smile. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

 

“What’s the sudden formality for?” Mingyu chortled. “Don’t worry, he’ll be glad you came over.”

 

Junhui wasn’t sure what to make out of that, but he simply waved goodbye and walked back to his own dormitory. He should probably start on his extra homework, and forgot about what happened earlier.

 

_IV._

 

"So I heard from Jihoon that you actually drank chicken soup this morning because you were ill," Wonwoo said, as him and Junhui both walked down the hallway after dinner towards their dorms. Since they were childhood friends, Wonwoo knew about his particular distaste for certain types of food.

 

Junhui sighed, because had Soonyoung gone around to tell everyone about how Minghao was the only person who could make him willingly drink chicken soup? 

 

"Yeah, I did," Junhui admitted. "But I wasn't really sick." 

 

"You weren't?" Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, then shook his head in disapproval. "You took a Puking Pastille again, didn't you?" 

 

Junhui grinned. Wonwoo knew him too well. "Yeah, I just wanted to get out of the History of Magic test.” 

 

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Don't come running to me when you don't know how to write an essay about the history of our school." 

 

Junhui laughed. "Please, I know that much."

 

Wonwoo smiled. "But still, I don't know how Minghao managed to convince you to drink it. You hate chicken soup so much." 

 

"Yeah, I hate it. I just drank it to please him, y'know? I didn't want him to feel bad or anything, but I didn't drink it out of my own will," Junhui lied. He didn’t want another person teasing him over his crush.

 

Wonwoo’s soft laugh was interrupted by a loud crash behind them, and both sixth years turned around to see Minghao, his eyes filled with disbelief and utter hurt. On the floor lay a shattered porcelain bowl, broken shards strewn everywhere on the floor. A familiar thick broth was spreading quickly on the tiles, and Junhui could only stare at him in horror. 

 

Minghao definitely heard what he had said— every single word, and their friendship was about to become as ruined as that bowl had become. 

 

"M-Minghao, it's not what you think," Junhui said weakly, attempting to take slow, shaky steps towards the younger boy. 

 

Minghao shook his head slowly, and took small steps backwards away from Junhui as if they were two like poles on a magnet, then turned and fled down the hallway as quickly as he could, disappearing down a corner that headed towards his dormitory. Junhui was so stunned by what had just happened in the last minute that he stood there dumbly, staring at Minghao's back as he rushed away into the distance.

 

"Run after him, stupid," Wonwoo called, shattering Junhui's reverie. 

 

Without a second glance at Wonwoo, the Slytherin raced down the corridor after Minghao. He thanked his lucky stars for blessing him with swift running, for he was slowly able to catch up with Minghao before he could tap out the passcode for the Hufflepuff dormitory door to open. Junhui couldn’t see Minghao’s face yet, but he was sure that it must have been laced with betrayal and disbelief.

 

He hated himself for not telling the truth in the first place.

 

Junhui reached out to grab Minghao’s arm, and spun him around, accidentally slamming him against the cold stone walls. Looking directly at him now, the Hufflepuff’s face was streaked with tears. Minghao was obviously embarrassed to be seen in that state, because he shoved Junhui away and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. He didn’t attempt to run away anymore, and Junhui took it as a sign that he had a chance to apologise.

 

If anything, he hated seeing Minghao upset like this, and it was completely his fault.

 

“Minghao,” he began slowly. “I’m sorry—”

 

“Was it fun?” Minghao sniffed. 

 

“What?” 

 

“Was it fun to use me? When I thought you were genuinely sick.”

 

Junhui shook his head quickly. “No, I wasn’t using you for anything.”

 

“Is this another one of those Slytherin jokes? Where you make fun of people for being dumb and gullible and then laugh about it later in your dormitory?” Minghao asked softly, starting to cry again. When he turned away in order not to be seen, Junhui felt his heart crumple.

 

“It wasn’t a joke,” Junhui tried to explain. “Yes, I wasn’t actually sick. But I didn’t go along with it because I thought it was funny or a joke.”

 

“Then, what?” Minghao asked indignantly, staring back at him as if to prove that he wasn’t scared of a Slytherin’s taunts. 

 

“It’s because…” Junhui hesitated for a moment, but decided that if he was going to lose Minghao as a friend completely after this, he might as well just confess. Perhaps after doing so, he would finally be able to get over his stupid aeon long crush. The situation couldn’t get worse than this.

 

“It’s because I’m in love with you,” Junhui said, and looked down so he couldn’t see the reaction on Minghao’s face at all. It must have been twisted with disgust. “We never get chances to talk to each other like that when all our friends were around, so I thought that if I pretended to be sick, you’d stay and we could finally chat. But I guess it all backfired because I was stupid, and thought that _that_ was a good idea.”

 

Junhui felt something prick at the back of his eyes, but willed himself not to cry in front of the younger boy. At least he could keep some part of his pride as they parted. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Junhui repeated genuinely. “I understand why you’d hate me. I’ll just… go now.” He turned around, still not wanting to look at Minghao’s face. He wouldn’t be able to get it go if he saw how much Minghao despised him.

 

“Once again, I’m so sorry,” Junhui said before brisk walking away. 

 

He had said it. 

 

Now, he just needed to maybe mourn about this under the covers for another twenty months.

 

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms— thin but very strong— wrap around his waist. Junhui twisted slightly and flinched when he saw that it was Minghao, his cheeks still wet with tears but now tinted a strange pink.

 

“Minghao—” Junhui began, sighing at how the Hufflepuff was still being so nice to him.

 

“I love you too,” Minghao confessed, his cheeks turning even brighter.

 

Junhui froze like he had just been petrified.

 

“I’ve liked you for quite a while now, actually, but you never seemed interested to talk with me, so I thought that I’d just give up on this hopeless crush,” Minghao explained quietly, his voice calm now. “But when I saw you in the hospital wing, I thought that… maybe I could look after you in order to get closer to you. That’s why I was so upset when I found out that you were pretending— I’d thought it was a prank on my feelings for you.”

 

Minghao released Junhui from his embrace, and the Slytherin spun around in surprise.

 

“But—” Junhui spluttered, reaching out to grab Minghao’s two hands. The latter jumped a little at the contact. “I thought you would have found me gross for liking you— I wouldn’t have thought that— you liked me too? Or is this a prank?”

 

Minghao smiled softly at his embarrassed manner, and stood on his toes to give Junhui a light kiss on the forehead through his bangs. 

 

“Does this answer your question?” Minghao asked, pulling away to wipe his cheeks dry. 

 

The kiss must have stirred something within Junhui, an adrenaline rush of some sort, because he reached out and tightly hugged the shorter Hufflepuff, who yelped in shock. 

 

“I love you,” Junhui repeated, feeling exhilarated at being able to finally express his reciprocated feelings.

 

Minghao huffed out an endearing sigh, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair with a smile. “I love you too, hyung… You’re not pretending this time, right?”

 

Junhui reached down to press his lips against Minghao’s, and that was all that Minghao needed to affirm it.

 

( “It looks like Minghao’s going to be raising two cats from now on,” Soonyoung commented as he watched from behind a pillar, laughing at his own joke.

 

Behind him, Jihoon and Wonwoo both rolled their eyes.

 

“What?” Soonyoung asked indignantly. “Should I work on it?”

 

Jihoon snorted before dragging him away with his strangely impressive strength. “Work on your life, Soonyoung,” the Ravenclaw muttered, recalling the number of zeros on his recent test paper. )

 

_V._

 

“Good job today,” Minghao greeted as Junhui walked out of the Quidditch stadium, the two instantly falling into step. Slytherin had beaten Gryffindor in their latest game, and Junhui would have stayed around to celebrate if it wasn’t for Soonyoung who was loudly boasting in Seungcheol’s face, and he didn’t want to be a part of that embarrassment. That, and the fact that he had agreed to meet up with Minghao after his match.

 

“Yeah,” Junhui smiled, ruffling his wind swept hair. “Looks like we’ll be playing against Hufflepuff for the finals.”

 

Minghao narrowed his eyes at the older boy. “If Slytherin beats us, you’re losing your boyfriend.”

 

Junhui laughed at Minghao’s threat, and it would have been a bit more effective if he wasn’t always so innocent. “Using the blackmail card now?” 

 

Minghao stuck his tongue out cutely at Junhui, and the Slytherin couldn’t help but lean in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek just to make him stop. It was effective, for Minghao instantly flushed red like he was the one who had just played an intense game of Quidditch.

 

Junhui couldn’t help but grin at the sight. Luck was definitely still on his side if he was able to date such an adorable guy.

 

“Hey, want to go out on a date with me this weekend at Hogsmeade?” he said, a little out of impulse, but it was worth it to see the pleasantly surprised look on Minghao’s face, his eyes now wide and his soft lips curving up into a gentle smile.

 

“Thought you’d never ask,” Minghao replied happily, instinctively linking arms with Junhui.

 

“We could go get lunch,” Junhui offered. It would be nice, since they were never able to sit together during normal lunches in the Great Hall, seeing that they were in different houses.

 

“Sure,” Minghao agreed, twisting so that he was looking up at Junhui now. “What do you want to eat?”

 

Junhui glanced down at him for a long while, making Minghao stare back, confused.

 

“What?”

 

“… Chicken soup?”

**Author's Note:**

> hoped you liked it !! i will definitely be more active here since my exams are over and holidays have started yay
> 
> (ps: please take this poll if you have time c: it will help me decide on what to write next!   
>  —> http://poal.me/e5efoh)


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